I hate musicals. “I like escaping from real life. I love how musicals just represent a whimsical persp—” I don’t care. The unrealisticness of breaking into song and dance at every opportunity is exactly why I can’t stand to watch them. I didn’t know “La La Land” was a musical going into it. I didn’t know anything about the movie at all, but the first scene told me everything. The opening song and dance immediately soured my mood, but one of the few things I hate more than musicals is leaving things unfinished. So I stuck it out and watched the whole thing. My feelings for the movie now go against all odds. I love “La La Land.” The main character of La La Land, Mia, is pursuing a career in acting, and goes through many successes and failures trying to get casted. Her boyfriend, Sebastian, is trying to open up a jazz club and expand jazz to young people. He’s also part of a band. Both Mia and Sebastian find success in their career at the end of the movie, largely thanks to each other—not because either of them is an established, connected person—but because they believe in each other and their belief that the other is worthy, talented, and unique empowers them. The movie closes by showcasing both Mia’s and Sebastian’s success. Mia is a famous actress who visits Sebastian’s packed jazz club. The tragedy is that they’re strangers now. It’s a horrible thing for the audience to come to terms with because we spend the whole movie rooting for the two of them career-wise, but also relationship-wise. But I think that’s the most beautiful part of the movie. They aren’t part of each other’s lives anymore, but they wouldn’t have been any happier without meeting each other in the first place. Mia’s insistence motivated Sebastian to leave the comfort and success of his band to pursue his real dream. Sebastian’s insistence ensured Mia didn’t give up on her career before it even started. We never leave each other’s lives. As humans, the shortest time we spend with each other could change the trajectory of our lives forever. Our paths may cross for only a second, but the road moving forward is lit by warm lampposts. Or, it could be overgrown and impossible to cross. Our legacy doesn’t start with our death. It is our choice if we want to believe that people are worthy, talented, and unique, or if we want to crush someone simply because we don’t have to care about them. From the moment Mia and Sebastian’s paths crossed, she would have considered any step towards his jazz club dreams as a success for both of them. This didn’t stop after they broke up, even if they probably hadn’t spoken to each other for years. The closing scene is a nostalgic but proud smile the two of them exchange as they part ways for possibly the last time. Mia is indebted to Sebastian for her life right now, but he will never be part of it. Small things people said to me once have changed how I present, the effort I put into goals, and even the colored shirt I chose to wear today. Causing such (potentially huge) change in people’s lives is a powerful burden, but I’m determined to wield it with care. La La Land changed the way I talk to people and the energy I put into my relationships, no matter how small. It also made me hate musicals just a little bit less (but don’t tell anyone I said that).

Nature has always enchanted me. As a young child, I wasn’t one to be scared of bees or scream for my parents to kill the spider in the bathroom. I would stop my bike and wait for the pillbugs to cross, I would spend my time rolling down the hills by our apartment, and my favorite cartoon was Wild Kratts. Yet, every year I see my once-favorite pond grow smaller and smaller, with a more pitiful and frail flock of ducks gathered around it. I love life and the environment, but with age I realize that it isn’t always going to be there. It seems like it is impossible to drive change as a single person. But it doesn’t have to be hopeless. I’ve dedicated a lot of time at Southbay Sustainable Communities, which has given me the tools and guidance to clean communities that need it most. At first, I just felt like one body among many, but I’ve felt my impact amplify as my role has expanded. I handle e-waste, heavy items, sharp materials, and possible biohazards that a random person with a bucket and some tongs wouldn’t know how to begin tackling. I’ve led small groups and recruited others to join, who in turn could also make a difference. My favorite moment volunteering with Southbay Sustainable Communities happened at a cleanup in which I was alone on the road. The area had a lot of homeless people around, which I didn’t usually care about. They mind their own business and signify the areas that truly need the most targeted support. Garbage disposal costs money and is only convenient with a permanent address, cleaning these areas is cleaning the local communities that need the most help. Regardless, it made me slightly nervous to be cleaning so close to a homeless person’s encampment, especially alone. While I was cleaning, the man who lived there happened to come back and did a double-take at me. He started going through his things suddenly and I started getting nervous until he placed some trash into my bucket. He said something along the lines of “Keep up the good work.” He tied up more trash bags, saddled them onto his bicycle and told me, “I want to help.” I pointed him toward our booth and told him there are bags available and refreshments if he gets tired. Being one of many bodies fighting for what’s right doesn’t feel like a waste of time, it feels like you are part of a huge family of humans so different yet united under one common cause. At protests, we are all one voice accomplishing more together than we could alone as a beautiful collaboration of human spirit. Invasive species could reproduce faster than could be removed by a single human in a large area, but working with a city official to remove invasive ice plants from the local estuary became a much shorter and very achievable process. Planting trees, composting food, and removing invasive species isn’t just donating time, it’s contributing to a whole movement that allowed me to make a difference myself, and inspire others to join the cause as well.